He badly wanted to find out what would happen if he gave her a real kiss, without any interruptions this time.
To his disappointment, Maggie turned to him, and extended her hand.
Foiled, he thought with amusement. She's going to make me work for it.
Instead of shaking, he took her hand and reminded her, "We're technically in public, right?"
Then he bent his head and brushed a soft kiss over her knuckles. Her reaction was gratifying—a soft inhalation and sudden tensing of her arm muscles, as if she'd just experienced the now-familiar jolt that occurred whenever they touched.
"So when are we seeing each other again?"
She blinked at him, and he had to fight the urge to smile smugly.
"Uh…not until next Friday," she said. "My folks and abuela are flying out tomorrow. I'm planning to work all weekend to catch up on the paperwork and PR stuff that I haven't gotten to because I've been spending every evening with them after work."
Which sounded like a not-so-subtle hint for him not to try asking her out on another date between now and their departure for Bearpaw Ridge.
"All right, let me know when you've booked our flights and whether I need to pack anything special, like for a black-tie event."
She laughed. "I'm pretty sure you won't need anything more than a decent suit. Our big clan gatherings tend to be parties held at the hotel. Other than that, everyone wears jeans and cowboy hats."
He hoped that the weekend wouldn't be stuffy and boring, like his own clan's gatherings, where everyone was expected to dress up and be on their best behavior.
"Pack my cowboy hat and boots, check," he said with mock solemnity, and was rewarded with another smile.
Steve was looking forward a long weekend of enforced togetherness with Maggie. It might soften her resistance to dating him for real.
* * *
The next morning, when Steve headed for the Ops Desk to talk to Base Manager Pete about taking some time off, he noticed a colorful sheet of paper taped to his locker.
Someone—probably the team's resident trickster, Kara Latrans—had created a flyer that featured his shirtless photo from a charity fund-raising calendar a couple of years back. The caption below the photos was printed in bold black letters. It read:
Hunk for Hire—Book Me for Engagements and Weddings!
Directly beneath that were his email address and cell number.
Steve didn't know whether to laugh or swear. He leaned in and sniffed but couldn't find any trace of an incriminating scent.
Yep, definitely Kara, he thought. Not only had she built a reputation for practical jokes, but she was also uncannily expert at never leaving any evidence. Which of course made her the prime suspect whenever any pranks were pulled.
But the flyer was a stark reminder that he needed to do some damage control before anyone in Maggie's hometown heard about this from Thor.
As luck would have it, he ran into Thor a few minutes later.
The big dark-haired bear shifter greeted him, "Hey, there, Hunk for Hire! I heard that you and Maggie had dinner again last night."
Steve groaned. The situation was worse than he'd thought. His previous smokejumper nickname, "Catastrophe," earned during a notable screw-up in his rookie year, had apparently been retired.
Shit, he thought. I need to fix this. Now.
He smiled at Thor, doing his best to imitate Aarón's smug smile whenever his brother came home from a successful date.
"I'm not available for hire any longer," he reported, truthfully, letting Thor draw his own conclusions. "And we're going to Bearpaw Ridge next weekend to meet her family."
Thor's dark brows shot up into his hairline. "No shit?" He sounded impressed. "Are you guys dating for real now?"
"I'm courting her," Steve said, still carefully sticking to the truth. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since I met her."
Thor clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to make Steve stagger a bit. "Awesome news, buddy. Maggie's a great person, and she'll make you a great mate." He grinned. "And think about all of the fabulous pastries you'll get to eat."
"Spoken like a bear shifter—all you guys ever think about is food," teased Steve. "I've got other things on my mind right now—sweet things that aren't cookies." He paused. "Hey, I got a big favor to ask you."
"Sure," Thor replied, his hazel eyes still gleaming with amusement. "What do you need?"
"Maggie told me that your mom and aunt are close to her family back home. If you talk to anyone in Bearpaw Ridge, could you maybe not mention the whole 'hunk